Look Closer: Gum Art Millennium Bridge

Welcome to the "Look Closer" Series which will highlight sites and attractions not listed in any travel book. Slow down, wander, and discover what is hidden in the shadows of the main attractions.

Millennium Bridge with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background

While crossing the Millennium Bridge to visit Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern Art Museum, we almost ran over two people crouched in the middle of the bridge with their faces and phones to the ground. This is what they found:

"Dino Baby"

The bridge is spotted with hundreds of dried up old chewing gum and some creative minds out there have turned them into blank canvases. Here are some of our best findings...

"Lift Off"

"Radioactive Mr. Burns" - He Brings you peace

"Disc-O Dancing"

"The Siren"

"Blue People"

"Pajama Felony"

"Croc-climbing"

"Aussie Sisters"

"Swan Hug"

We will leave our mark on the bridge during our next stop through London and we'll share our creation. The first person to visit London and finds our gum art wins a stick of gum*!

*may be slightly used

Doing Some Good...

An easy misconception about taking a big trip such as ours' is that it can often be mistaken for one long vacation or holiday. While it may seem that way, especially at the beginning, the purpose of this trip is to live life in another country. We want to experience what another culture has to offer and that can be difficult when limiting yourself to the tourist traps as they are catered to making things easy for foreigners. This, of course, doesn't mean to avoid the tourist spots all together because, let's face it, places like the London Tower are sights for that exact reason. They are meant to be seen and marveled. Avoiding Trafalgar Square is to avoid experiencing a major part of London's history. Just don't rely on tours of said places for your reaction to all that you can see while abroad.

Trafalgar Square. This place is SPECIAL.

The human mind is an incredible tool. It can process information and stimuli in a way that can be reinterpreted in endless other forms. A monolith of stone and mortar like the London Tower can be seen as a link to raw historical data or even as an abstract representation of an emotion such as pride. Crossing the modernistic twists of metal that is the Millennium Bridge can cause you to think of a specific human that engineered it or possibly conjure memories of crossing it on a previous trip with family. The fact of the matter is that we have sharpened this tool of ours to a point where it allows us to do amazing things. One of many reasons I like to experience things for myself before getting another take on it.

On the Millennium Bridge from St. Paul's Cathedral to the Tate Modern.

Vicky and I experienced a lot in these past couple of days. From gobbling down a traditional English breakfast to walking across the Thames on the Millennium Bridge. After which, we went on a crosstown trek between two British museums. The Tate Modern in the morning and the National Gallery in the evening. In between, we stopped at Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square and witnessed the fever pitch that is a living, breathing city in full bloom of a Friday night. From pints of ale in Leicester Square to pints of lager in East End, we made full use of the Tube and the double-decker night buses. We drank and danced with some locals and some not-so-locals. Saturday night, however, we cemented the fact that this is not just a vacation to us. We agreed to volunteer with the Catholic Worker.

My brother and his wife are frequent volunteers with this movement that, in a nutshell, provides meals and shelters to immigrants in search of political asylum. Some of these poor souls have been waiting to be made legal citizens for over four years. Taking a break from our whirlwind travel plans to help cook and serve meals to refugees is not something you take into account when planning a trip like this. However, for Vicky and I, when the opportunity arose, we couldn't refuse. Neither one of us are religious in any way, but one thing we do agree on is the concept of being selfless, even if it something as seemingly insignificant as introducing Mexican cuisine to a man from Burundi and seeing the wonder in his eyes at our use of such 'exotic combinations of food.'

Cookin' veggie fajitas with Spanish rice.

Complete thug cookery.

This is another great thing about opening yourself to all that surrounds you when traveling. Sure, we could have sampled another bitter or stout at another one of London's countless historical pubs on a Saturday night, but what better way to make this trip part of life instead of part of a vacation? By helping to enrich a few people's lives, we are enriching our own. We are living life. We just happen to be doing it in a place I've never been. To me, that is truly doing some good...

The view from the bottom of the Emirates Airline on the Greenwich Peninsula.

First Impressions...

Well, Blogosphere. We made it across the pond in one (very tired) piece! Though a bit worse for wear, thanks in large part to the 10 hour direct flight from Los Angeles, we made it to the UK, through customs, onto the London Underground (The Tube, Picadilly Line to the Central Line), met my brother to get his keys and to my brother's flat in Bethnal Green, whereupon we rediscovered an energetic spark!

No. No, we did not.

After regrouping and realizing we were, in fact, in another country, we dealt with the strange fact that our bodies said it was the middle of the night, but our accurately reconfigured watches said it was actually mid afternoon in sunny London. We dealt with it in the only way we knew how. We took a nap. Once awake, we plotted out our evening and proceeded to go with my brother to his and his wife's favorite watering hole, The Star of Bethnal Green.

The Star of Bethnal Green.

After a couple of rounds of ales and chips (fries, you non-British mooks), we headed back to complete our first foray into the Old World. A few things struck me as we lounged in the room dripping with wood and brass and history. For one, as much as I love Chicago because it is one of the few places in the U.S. that can claim 'history' as one of it's charms, I walked past a pub that had the date '1666' on it. I can no longer see faded daguerreotypes of people holding up glass mugs of beer in zoot suits without thinking that time period, once ancient to me, is actually more 'modern history' to the images conjured in the halls of some of London's more seasoned pubs. Seriously. People have been drinking at some of these places for nearly half a millennium. What. The hell.

The next morning, after coffee and crumpets (hell yes, those crumpets), Vicky and I went on our first of what promises to be many walks through the city. Traveling along the areas surrounding Bethnal Green Ave, Brick Ln, Whitechapel Rd, and Shoreditch High St on our way to the London Tower and the Tower Bridge was an absolutely special memory to create.

Vicky poses in an alleyway near Allen Park.

Once across the Tower Bridge, we took in the majesty of the Thames River from it's bank and marveled at the audacity of the fact that there has been a major civilized population there for nearly 2,000 years (even before Betty White was born).

What.

Despite being floored by a wave of awesome, Vicky had the wherewithal to take a quick sketch of the bridge from her point of view.

Seriously. You artist types...

After heading back towards Bethnal Green, we nipped into an area called Box Park in Shoreditch. We met a local, drank a local and played a few games of the UK's most famous sport... Ping Pong. All in all, an amazing first day and a half here, across the pond.

As we sat and decompressed after our 7 mile walkabout around just parts of Central London, I kept coming back to the same thoughts, not only am I making a once-in-a-lifetime trip come true (again), but I'm doing so with the most wonderful woman, the most wonderful person I have ever met. The person who was kind enough to call me 'husband.' My wife. All the history and all the Ping Pong and all the beer in the world will never make me lose sight of the fact that while traveling is an amazing adventure in and of itself, it pales in comparison to the adventure of creating memories with someone you love and who loves you enough in return to make you a better person along the way...

See you in the next adventure...

Checkpoint Checklist: Tips For Saving

Vicky here! Thanks for following our adventure. This is the first installment in the series "Checkpoint Checklist" in which we provide bullet point lists of tips and information on traveling based on our experience and research.

How can two freelancers in the competitive film industry afford such an extensive trip through some of the most expensive countries in the world? Here's how we did it:

• LIVE WITH ROOMMATES: 2 bedroom apartment in North Hollywood. 4 adult roommates. Sounds crowded, but Mike and I each saved around $500/month compared to what our colleagues generally pay. We split the cost of utilities and internet four ways as well. Netflix ended up being $2/person. Every penny counts, right?
• When you have cool roommates, you go out less and spend less because every night is hang out night!
• COOK YOUR OWN MEALS: Buying groceries and cooking at home saves SO MUCH MONEY! We generally spend $100 every two weeks on groceries. Between the two of us, that's $25/wk per person. That's less than what you would spend on one night out at a chain sit-down restaurant.
• Of course we still went out and enjoyed a nice dinner or drinks with friends. Just not too often.
• It also helps that our jobs offer catered lunches because we work 13+ hours a day and can't get away to buy lunch.
• DON'T BUY NEW CLOTHES: Mike and I are not trendy at all when it comes to fashion. Our jobs require us to wear practical clothes that always get dirty and torn. When we do want to update our wardrobe and dress like adults, we go to the local Goodwill or more fashionable second hand stores like Crossroads. I bought a chic BCBG sweater for $15 with the original price tag marked at $150.
• Same goes for electronics/furniture/material goods: CRAIGSLIST is the SH*T! We find amazing items and deals on Craigslist.
• OPEN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT: People who live paycheck to paycheck don't realize this is an option. This is a great way to prioritize your earnings and spending. I usually put away 50% of my paycheck into my savings. We have been saving for this trip for about a year. Even setting aside $50 a month can add up.
• Mike and I are great at saving, but that doesn't mean we stay home all the time and avoid all things fun. We go back to Chicago at least twice a year to see family and friends because that is what is important to us. Otherwise, we could be saving another $1200/year on airfare alone. Keep in mind, we aren't making any money when we visit home.
• READ TRAVEL BLOGS: Like ours! You are not the first or only person to want to travel. Many people have done it before you and have utilized blogging to share their experience and advice. There are error-proof ways to save money leading up to your trip and cost-cutting tricks to use during your trip. Listed below are the two most useful travel blogs we follow:
• http://www.nomadicmatt.com/ Nomadic Matt offers sage advice on travel budgeting.
• http://herpackinglist.com/ This blog was more useful for me than for Mike. Women think, plan, and pack differently. It was great to read about travel experiences from the ladies.

Up next: The journey begins. LA to London...

At the Terminal...

Here we are. On the precipice of another life event. So many of these take place in an airport. Not much time to wax philosophical on this one, as we're boarding soon, but just wanted to say goodbye, America. We'll get you something neat from the duty free shop in Europe!